June? Whoa!
Can y’all believe it’s June already? I just had my 41st birthday! My birthday used to mean spring was almost over and I couldn’t stand the idea of summer coming (not fond of the heat). Suddenly I’m thrilled about it. We only have outdoor dining at Millport, even before the pandemic, so summertime means busy time and I can’t wait! We are in a mad dash to be ready for it.
Lately we have been experiencing some growing pains. We went from things being manageable for just the 2 of us to HOLY CRAP, what’re we gonna do? LOL. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled things are taking off! But, I did not anticipate how this pandemic and the state of “things” in the restaurant industry would leave us struggling to build a staff. The buzz on social is real you guys. It is so hard to find people. I won’t open that can of worms but hope it helps give context to this share time.
Our weekends have gotten so busy it is hard for Emmi and I to keep up. Our wait time for food/coffee can get up to 30 minutes or occasionally even longer. Having such a small kitchen makes this even more difficult. When there are 8-10 tickets up (both dine in and to-go/call in orders) the clock ticks so fast. I blink and it’s been half an hour. We’ve been pretty lucky with not getting bad reviews over this but there’ve been a few. All I can say is that we are really trying y’all. Trying to keep up. Trying to staff up.
We are training 2 new staff members. Heather is currently training as cashier/barista but she is so awesome I plan to quickly move her into a Manager-in-training position and CAN NOT WAIT!! You will be seeing much more of her starting July 1st. Shelly is our new cook and she will be serving up breakfast/lunch a few days a week as well as saving my ass stepping in on day prep. We are still looking for weekend help!!!
There are still many questions about what our plans are. My plan for Millport has always been the same. A little breakfast/lunch spot with great coffee and a simple menu, a market with charcuterie, grab-n-go foods, flowers, pickles, pastries, etc & our supper garden (back patio) which will be reserved for supper and special/private events. All of those things are still a work in progress. My goal this first year has been to stay in business and financially making decisions that keep us on that path. So, spending on fun projects has not been in the budget. There are far more expenses than I ever knew about. Keep in mind, I do not have restaurant experience. Neither does Emmi. But I do know a few things about running a small business and I went into this adventure with 2 goals…. First, to keep my eyes on the money at all times and make sound financial decisions no matter how hard or long I had to physically work “in” it. Second, to remember why I chased this dream in the first place.
I have made a few mistakes along the way. One of them was thinking I had to spend all my time focused on breakfast/lunch since that’s what had been here for so long before Millport. I have decided to begin the process of stepping away from that in order to refocus on my goal and vision.
We will be changing our daytime menu as we transition into the market opening. As of next week, expect to see some of the dishes come off of the menu. We will be moving into the direction of more grab-n-go and less made-to-order foods. This will also help us to keep up during our busy times. My hope is to have the market open in mid July. There are many labor hours to make that happen and not many available. (Time is the hardest thing for us right now.) When the market opens we will return to allowing guests to come inside for ordering and shopping. Our front patio will remain open during the day for self-seated dining. Our back patio will remain exclusively for supper and private events.
Our Supper Garden will become my primary focus. The moment we started welcoming guests back for supper I was reminded that is where my passion is. As the world continues healing and coming back from the pandemic I am eager to get back to what I love, bringing people together around our community table. We will still offer our regular Millport supper menu and we will feature new events monthly like grazing parties, clambakes, farm dinners, bbq nights, etc. We have been offering private events for about 2 months and that side of business is growing as well.
One last little thing…. there’ve been a lot of conversations lately about masks and the June date to drop masks. A few guests have recently commented on this when we’ve asked them to please wear a mask. If you know me/us then you know we have been one of the most Covid safe restaurants in San Diego. I do not intend to stop being one now. Regardless of what you or I believe about the future of this pandemic, one thing is a no-brainer for me… wearing mask while inside for a few minutes isn’t going to hurt anyone. So, we will continue to require masks while inside at Millport. If you are shopping, placing an order, using our restroom or just dropping in to say hi, we will ask you to wear masks until we feel it is safe to do otherwise. We will also be providing masks for those who do not have one.
Ok friends, stay tuned to our social for upcoming news and events. I could not be more excited for this next chapter of Millport. My dream of owning a restaurant is coming to life and I keep pinching myself, how can this be real?! Thanks for sticking with us through the growing pains. For coming back, for telling friends, for being patient and for showing us love and support. This has been the most challenging season of my life. Both business and personal. But every day when I wake up I still have these little butterflies in my stomach that remind me IT IS WORTH IT! Thank you Thank you Thank you! I love you guys so much and can’t wait to move forward in this journey with all of you!